Johannesburg: Team India coach Duncan Fletcher on Wednesday said he plans to develop a young ODI and Twenty20 squad and expose them to foreign conditions early in their career.
“We’re trying to develop a young one-day squad and Twenty20 squad. These blokes have played well on the subcontinent and any game they play out of it must be good from an experience point of view,” he told reporters here at the O.R. Tambo Airport.
India will play a one-off Twenty20 international here on Friday just days before the start of the fifth season of Indian Premier League (IPL).
The match will be a tribute to all-rounder Jacques Kallis and will also commemorate the 150 years of arrival of Indians in South Africa.
Fletcher feels experiences like this will do a lot of good to the youngsters.
“(We want to) expose them to different pressures and different conditions. From my point of view there is a lot of talent around, we just need to make sure we give them that experience they require,” he said.
Fletcher, who led England to a memorable Ashes triumph in 2005, said there has been “no middle road” with India’s performances since winning the cricket World Cup.
“Well, so far there’s been no middle road,” Fletcher said. “We have played some very good cricket … then we went to England and had a few problems and didn’t play as well as we could,” he said.
While India tasted success against the West Indies and in the one-day series against England at home, their reputation took a beating following two disastrous tours to the Old Blighty and Australia.
“Well, so far there’s been no middle road,” Fletcher said.
“We’ve played some very good cricket (in West Indies and at home) and then we’ve gone on to what I would consider two of the toughest tours you can go on within a short period of time.
“I don’t know if any other side has done that: gone to England and Australia within four months,” Fletcher said.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men also failed in the Asia Cup as they couldn’t reach the final of the four-nation tournament after losing to Bangladesh in the league stage.
“There are a lot of young players we are trying to groom, and hopefully it will pay dividends in the future. From our point of view there is a lot of talent around, we need to give them the exposure they require,” he added. (Agencies)
